Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Teramo, Localita' Piano D'acio, Teramo 64100, Italy.
Laboratory for Precision Livestock Farming (PLF), Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Agriculture Research Organization - The Volcani Centre, Israel.
Animal. 2021 Mar;15(3):100143. doi: 10.1016/j.animal.2020.100143. Epub 2020 Dec 23.
Precision livestock farming (PLF) technologies are becoming increasingly common in modern agriculture. They are frequently integrated with other new technologies in order to improve human-livestock interactions, productivity and economical sustainability of modern farms. New systems are constantly being developed for concentrated farming operations as well as for extensive and pasture-based farming systems. The development of technologies for grazing animals is of particular interest for the Mediterranean extensive sheep farming sector. Dairy sheep farming is a typical production system of the area linked to its historical and cultural traditions. The area provides roughly 40% of the world sheep milk, having 27% of the milk-producing ewes. Developed countries of the area (France, Italy, Greece and Spain - FIGS) have highly specialized production systems improved through animal selection, feeding techniques and intensification of production. However, extensive systems are still practiced alongside intensive ones due to their lower input costs and better resilience to market fluctuations. In the current article, we evaluate possible PLF systems and their suitability to be incorporated in extensive dairy sheep farming as practiced in the FIGS countries. Available products include: electronic identification systems (now mandatory in the EU) such as ear tags, ruminal boluses and sub-cutaneous radio-frequency identification; on-animal sensors such as accelerometers, global positioning systems and social activity loggers; and stationary management systems such as walk-over-weights, automatic drafter (AD), virtual fencing and milking parlour-related technologies. The systems were considered according to their suitability for the management and business model common in dairy sheep farming. However, adoption of new technologies does not take place immediately in small and medium scale extensive farming. As sheep farmers usually belong to more conservative technology consumers, characterized by an average age of 60 and a very transparent community, the dynamics do not favour financial risk taking involved with new technologies. Financial barriers linked to production volumes and resource management of extensive farming are also a barrier for innovation. However, future prospectives could increase the importance of technology and promote its wider adoption. Trends such as global sheep milk economics, global warming, awareness to animal welfare, antibiotics resistance and European agricultural policies could influence the farming practices and stimulate wider adoption of PLF systems in the near future.
精准畜牧养殖（PLF）技术在现代农业中越来越普遍。为了改善人畜互动、提高生产力和实现现代农场的经济可持续性，这些技术经常与其他新技术结合使用。新系统不断为集中养殖作业以及广泛的放牧和基于牧场的养殖系统开发。对于地中海广泛的绵羊养殖部门来说，开发用于放牧动物的技术尤其具有吸引力。乳用绵羊养殖是该地区典型的生产系统，与该地区的历史和文化传统有关。该地区提供了全球约 40%的绵羊奶，拥有 27%的产奶母羊。该地区的发达国家（法国、意大利、希腊和西班牙-FIGS）拥有高度专业化的生产系统，通过动物选择、饲养技术和生产集约化得到了改善。然而，由于投入成本较低且对市场波动的适应能力较强，广泛的系统仍在与集约化系统一起使用。在当前的文章中，我们评估了可能的 PLF 系统及其在 FIGS 国家广泛的乳用绵羊养殖中的适用性。可用的产品包括：电子识别系统（现在在欧盟是强制性的），例如耳标、瘤胃丸和皮下射频识别；动物传感器，例如加速度计、全球定位系统和社交活动记录器；以及固定管理系统，例如走式称重器、自动挤奶厅（AD）、虚拟围栏和与挤奶厅相关的技术。这些系统是根据其在乳用绵羊养殖中常见的管理和商业模式的适用性来考虑的。然而，在中小规模的广泛养殖中，新技术的采用并不会立即发生。由于绵羊养殖户通常属于较为保守的技术消费者，他们的平均年龄为 60 岁，并且是一个非常透明的社区，因此这种动态不利于新技术所涉及的财务风险承担。与广泛养殖的生产规模和资源管理相关的财务障碍也是创新的障碍。然而，未来的前景可能会增加技术的重要性，并促进其更广泛的采用。全球绵羊奶经济、全球变暖、动物福利意识、抗生素耐药性和欧洲农业政策等趋势可能会影响养殖实践，并在不久的将来刺激更广泛地采用 PLF 系统。
